James O'Connor, the former 'golden boy' of Australian rugby, has revealed he yearns for a Wallabies recall and has targeted the Rugby World Cup in 2019 to once more don the green and gold.
O'Connor began playing for the Western Force back in 2008 when he was just a 17-year-old, and at that stage was the youngest to ever play Super Rugby.
Later that year, he became the second youngest ever Wallaby ever when he made his debut against Italy as an 18-year-old.
His performance against the Italians off the bench couldn't have impressed the rugby community more as he scored three tries on debut.
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The following year, the then-19-year-old was named as the Rookie of the Year for both the Western Force and the Wallabies.
In what was perhaps his best performance of his career, O'Connor stole the show in 2010 against the All Blacks when he converted his own try to beat the Kiwis in the fourth Bledisloe Cup match.
You can watch O'Connor's nerves of steel in the video below.
2010 James O'Connor wins the #bledisloe for the #Wallabies versus the #Allblacks with a great #goalkick. #rugby #rugbykick #rugby4life #rugbychampionship pic.twitter.com/ybcmI3NB7d
— Rugby Kicking Academy (@howtorugbykick) August 25, 2018
The youngster played in the World Cup back in 2011 and featured consistently for the national side, but from then on things began to head downhill for the touted star.
With minor off-field indiscretions occurring throughout the early stages of his career, O'Connor was then released from his ARU contract for being too intoxicated to board a flight in 2013 when heading to Bali.
Stints in Europe with London Irish and Toulon, and then a brief return to Super Rugby for the Queensland Reds appeared to show that the 'future of Australian rugby' was getting his life in order, but then in 2017 while in Paris, O'Connor was arrested (and later fined) when attempting to buy cocaine with former All Blacks player Ali Williams.
He was stood down from Toulon, and then moved to the English Premiership where we has played for the Sale Sharks.
More recently, the now-28-year-old has been recovering from ankle surgery. More importantly, the Aussie has been working on himself and trying to get his life back on track, which includes spending time in an Icelandic centre which focuses on meditation and sensory deprivation.
"Coming to the end of my training camp in Iceland and it has been a humbling and truly enlightening experience," O'Connor wrote on Instagram.
"I have been pushed into some very uncomfortable situations by @saviourworld through the use of sensory deprivation, heat exhaustion and deep states of meditation. My reaction to each stimulus has forced me to face myself and my darkness in a way that I have never felt before.
"I now know who I was but more importantly, I now see who I must become. It is time for me to share my truth. I have a deep desire to play for the Wallabies again. I have learnt from my mistakes and I am now ready. Ready to bleed green and gold. Ready to bleed for my brothers.
"Ready to bleed for the people. I will be back playing in October and I will have my eye firmly on the World Cup. I will not let myself or anyone down again.
"Time to shine!"
O'Connor has played 44 Test matches for Australia, and with the way the Wallabies are currently trending just a year out from the World Cup, would the ARU welcome him back with open arms?
Time will tell, but what we do know is that O'Connor's journey will be an interesting story to keep an eye on over the next 12 months before the Wallabies head to Japan.
